Centre silent on misdeeds of Omar government: PDP

Jammu, Nov 15 (IANS) The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tuesday hit out at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah charging him with spending all his time in “saving his chair” and throwing the state into an irretrievable mess.

Touching upon a range of issues in the state and the latest campaign of the chief minister for revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from some parts of the state, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti told a rally of her party workers here that “it is surprising and shocking that the centre is acting like a silent spectator to the misdeeds and corruption of the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir”.

“Look, who is talking about the repeal of AFSPA,” Mehbooba mockingly asked of Omar Abdullah. “Omar used AFSPA in his house, where a hale and hearty National Conference worker Syed Mohammad Yousuf visits his house and comes out vomiting blood and dies within hours.”

“If something happens in West Bengal or Karnataka, the centre and BJP make an issue out of it, but Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing such incidents (NC worker’s death), for which no FIR is lodged, no inquiry is set up, and the Centre and BJP choose to remain silent,” Mehbooba Mufti said and asked: “Why?”

The PDP workers had organised a rally here to protest against the “corruption under the Omar Abdullah government” in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mehbooba also raised the issue of high corruption in the state and the lowering of the “prestige of chief minister’s institution”.

“All we have seen so far is the chief minister rushing to Delhi and begging for one thing or the other, and essentially the goal is to secure his chair. He is most of the time out of the state and all the time on TV channels. There is no governance, no work and the people are being taken for granted and looked down upon with contempt,” Mehbooba Mufti said.